Action at La Hogue (1692)
Encyclopedia
The action at La Hogue occurred during the pursuit of the French fleet after the battle of Barfleur on 19 May Old Style (29 May (New Style)), 1692. Tourville’s
fleet of badly damaged ships was swept by wind and tide down the coast of the Cotentin peninsula
, pursued by an English fleet under Russell
.
Three of the most badly damaged ships were beached at Cherbourg, where they were attacked and destroyed
by an English squadron under Delaval
.
The remaining ten French ships, with Tourville and four of his flag officers, were swept down the coast, to be beached on the evening of 21 May (OS) outside the small port of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue
.
, and fleet of transports, for the invasion of England.
Tourville’s force joined two of the ships that had retired from the battle with Nesmond
, ( Bourbon 68 and Saint-Louis 64) which had been beached at la Hougue the day before.
The ships were put ashore in two groups on the wide beaches on either side of the town.
On the north beach, between the town and the small tidal island of Tatihou
, lay Ambitieux 96 guns,( flagship of Villette Mursay and Tourville), Merveillieux 90 (d’Amfreville), Foudroyant 84 (Relingue), and Magnifique 86 (Coetlogon
). With them was the smaller St Philippe 84, and, further out on the shore of Tatihou, the Terrible 80. These ships were covered by shore batteries at the Fort d’Islet, on Tatihou, (44 guns in total) and on platforms set up by the army on the north shore.
On the south beach, under the eyes of James and his army at Morsalines, were the Bourbon 68, and St Louis 64, from Nesmond’s division, and Fier 80, Tonnant 80, Gaillard 68, and Fort 60, which came in with Tourville. These were covered by the 68 guns of Fort St Vaast, and artillery on gun platforms along the shore. Also, in a small harbour known as the port of La Hougue, which was behind the town of St Vaast and under the guns of the fort, was the fleet of transports prepared for the invasion.
The fleet was also protected by a fleet of 200 boats, and 3 oared galleys mounting 12 guns each, though an offer by James to station troops on the ships to guard against boarding was not taken up.
, started to arrive on the evening of 21 May; the rest of the fleet joined during the night and over the next two days. Russell immediately organized an inshore squadron under Shovell
to attack the French positions, but Shovell later collapsed from wounds received at Barfleur, and had to be replaced by Rooke
, while the waters around St Vaast and La Hougue had to be sounded, which took up most of the 22nd, so the assault did not start until the following day. Russell also used the 22nd to organize the 3rd and 4th rates of his command to form a blockade line close inshore, while the bigger 1st and 2nd rates were set to organize boats and boarding crews. Danby
was keen to take part in the action, and appealed first to Shovell, and later to Rooke, to do so. In the assault he was given command of the boat parties that went close inshore.
Meanwhile the boats closed with the other ships. They were accompanied by another fireship, which drew the fire from the French batteries; the supporting ships countered, sweeping the French gun platforms, which were too exposed to continue. One boat, from the Eagle, grounded on the shore, and was attacked by French cavalry; in a highly unusual encounter, one of the troopers was pulled down by a sailor using a boathook, before the boat was re-floated.
Resistance melted away as the attack was pressed, and the English sailors were able to board and fire the remaining great ships.
The French seamen, and the troops ashore, were demoralized by this point, and had abandoned the ships with little resistance in the face of the determined English assault.
This episode was seen by James II, who had been watching from his camp at Marsaline; he was moved to remark, with the lack of tact for which he was notorious, “Only my English tars could have done such a deed”.
The boats, led by Rooke, and with two fireships in tow, entered the harbour on the flooding tide, despite gunfire from both the fort and the ships. Both fireships grounded in the shallows below the fort, and had to be burned without result, but a number of ships in the harbour were boarded and set alight, mostly transports, but also a 4th or 5th rate warship and a hulk. Several other of the transports were captured, and carried away when the boats retreated on the ebb, but most of the transports were too far up the harbour to be boarded, and escaped serious damage.
: Perhaps 30 ships of the line, of which
The Inshore Squadron : 14 ships of the line plus auxiliaries
(from the Red Squadron)
Eagle 70, Chester 50, Greenwich 54, Swiftsure70, Kent 70, Oxford 54, Cambridge 70,
(from the Blue Squadron)
Deptford 50, Woolwich 54, Crown 50, Dreadnought 64, Stirling Castle 70, Warspite 70, Berwick 70, Resolution 70.
French :
12 ships of the line, plus auxiliaries.
Bourbon 68, St Louis 64, Gaillard 68, Terrible 80, Merveilleux 90, Tonnant 80, Foudroyant 84,
Fort 60, Ambiteiux 96, St Philippe 84,
Magnifique 86, Fier 80,
Anne Hilarion de Tourville
Anne Hilarion de Costentin, comte de Tourville was a French naval commander who served under King Louis XIV. He was made Marshal of France in 1693.-Military career:...
fleet of badly damaged ships was swept by wind and tide down the coast of the Cotentin peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
, pursued by an English fleet under Russell
Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, PC was the First Lord of the Admiralty under King William III.-Naval career:...
.
Three of the most badly damaged ships were beached at Cherbourg, where they were attacked and destroyed
Action at Cherbourg (1692)
The action at Cherbourg was fought on 21 and 22 May Old Style The action at Cherbourg was fought on 21 and 22 May Old Style The action at Cherbourg was fought on 21 and 22 May Old Style (1st and 2 June (New Style) 1692 as part of the aftermath of the Battle of Barfleur (19 May (OS)1692)...
by an English squadron under Delaval
Ralph Delaval
Admiral Sir Ralph Delaval was an English naval admiral.He was a member of a junior branch of the Delaval family of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland...
.
The remaining ten French ships, with Tourville and four of his flag officers, were swept down the coast, to be beached on the evening of 21 May (OS) outside the small port of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue
Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue
Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Geography:Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is situated in the Manche département, in the Basse-Normandie région. It is in the Quettehou canton, of the Cherbourg arrondissement. The town had a population of 2,097...
.
Situation 21 May 1692
This was the place where the French had assembled an army, under the command of James IIJames II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, and fleet of transports, for the invasion of England.
Tourville’s force joined two of the ships that had retired from the battle with Nesmond
André, marquis de Nesmond
André, marquis de Nesmond was a French naval commander from the seventeenth century.He was the second son of Henri de Nesmond...
, ( Bourbon 68 and Saint-Louis 64) which had been beached at la Hougue the day before.
The ships were put ashore in two groups on the wide beaches on either side of the town.
On the north beach, between the town and the small tidal island of Tatihou
Tatihou
Tatihou is an island of Normandy in France with an area of 290,000 square metres. It is located to the east of the Cotentin peninsula just off the coast near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. It is almost uninhabited, and is usually reached by amphibious boat although, being a tidal island, it is also...
, lay Ambitieux 96 guns,( flagship of Villette Mursay and Tourville), Merveillieux 90 (d’Amfreville), Foudroyant 84 (Relingue), and Magnifique 86 (Coetlogon
Coëtlogon
Coëtlogon can refer to:* Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, Marshal of France* Coëtlogon, Côtes-d'Armor, a French commune* Coëtlogon, a French Navy frigate under the command of Dupetit-Thouars during the Boshin war in Japan....
). With them was the smaller St Philippe 84, and, further out on the shore of Tatihou, the Terrible 80. These ships were covered by shore batteries at the Fort d’Islet, on Tatihou, (44 guns in total) and on platforms set up by the army on the north shore.
On the south beach, under the eyes of James and his army at Morsalines, were the Bourbon 68, and St Louis 64, from Nesmond’s division, and Fier 80, Tonnant 80, Gaillard 68, and Fort 60, which came in with Tourville. These were covered by the 68 guns of Fort St Vaast, and artillery on gun platforms along the shore. Also, in a small harbour known as the port of La Hougue, which was behind the town of St Vaast and under the guns of the fort, was the fleet of transports prepared for the invasion.
The fleet was also protected by a fleet of 200 boats, and 3 oared galleys mounting 12 guns each, though an offer by James to station troops on the ships to guard against boarding was not taken up.
Preparations 22 May
The English fleet, under RussellEdward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, PC was the First Lord of the Admiralty under King William III.-Naval career:...
, started to arrive on the evening of 21 May; the rest of the fleet joined during the night and over the next two days. Russell immediately organized an inshore squadron under Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
to attack the French positions, but Shovell later collapsed from wounds received at Barfleur, and had to be replaced by Rooke
George Rooke
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval commander. He is known for his service in the wars against France and particularly remembered today for his victory at Vigo Bay and for capturing Gibraltar for the British in 1704.-Early life:Rooke was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury...
, while the waters around St Vaast and La Hougue had to be sounded, which took up most of the 22nd, so the assault did not start until the following day. Russell also used the 22nd to organize the 3rd and 4th rates of his command to form a blockade line close inshore, while the bigger 1st and 2nd rates were set to organize boats and boarding crews. Danby
Peregrine Osborne, 2nd Duke of Leeds
Peregrine Osborne, 2nd Duke of Leeds , styled Lord Osborne between 1673 and 1689, Earl of Danby between 1689 and 1694 and Marquess of Carmarthen between 1694 and 1712, was an English Tory politician.-Background:...
was keen to take part in the action, and appealed first to Shovell, and later to Rooke, to do so. In the assault he was given command of the boat parties that went close inshore.
First Action 23 May
At 6am on the 23, the ships of the inshore squadron were ordered to attack the ships on the north beach. After a preliminary bombardment the boats were despatched, and about 8.30 am one of the fireships grappled the Terrible, which was in a more exposed position. Finding her deserted the fireship captain refrained from igniting his ship, but boarded Terrible and started fires with what material was to hand; for this he was much commended in saving his charge for a better occasion.Meanwhile the boats closed with the other ships. They were accompanied by another fireship, which drew the fire from the French batteries; the supporting ships countered, sweeping the French gun platforms, which were too exposed to continue. One boat, from the Eagle, grounded on the shore, and was attacked by French cavalry; in a highly unusual encounter, one of the troopers was pulled down by a sailor using a boathook, before the boat was re-floated.
Resistance melted away as the attack was pressed, and the English sailors were able to board and fire the remaining great ships.
Second Action 24 May
The second action opened at 5am on the 24 when Rooke again sent in his boats, to attack the six great ships on the south beach. Supported by gunfire from Deptford and Crown, and with close support from Charles and Greyhound, both under oars, the English sailors were able to board and fire all six ships.The French seamen, and the troops ashore, were demoralized by this point, and had abandoned the ships with little resistance in the face of the determined English assault.
This episode was seen by James II, who had been watching from his camp at Marsaline; he was moved to remark, with the lack of tact for which he was notorious, “Only my English tars could have done such a deed”.
Third Action 24 May
Rooke now saw an opportunity to follow up the success with an attack, at high water, on the transports in La Hougue harbour.The boats, led by Rooke, and with two fireships in tow, entered the harbour on the flooding tide, despite gunfire from both the fort and the ships. Both fireships grounded in the shallows below the fort, and had to be burned without result, but a number of ships in the harbour were boarded and set alight, mostly transports, but also a 4th or 5th rate warship and a hulk. Several other of the transports were captured, and carried away when the boats retreated on the ebb, but most of the transports were too far up the harbour to be boarded, and escaped serious damage.
Conclusion
This marked the end of the action, which had been a complete success for the allied fleet; 12 French ships of the line and a number of smaller ships had been destroyed, with minimal English casualties. The action also dashed any hope that James or Louis might have had to mount an invasion that year.Ships
English :: Perhaps 30 ships of the line, of which
The Inshore Squadron : 14 ships of the line plus auxiliaries
(from the Red Squadron)
Eagle 70, Chester 50, Greenwich 54, Swiftsure70, Kent 70, Oxford 54, Cambridge 70,
(from the Blue Squadron)
Deptford 50, Woolwich 54, Crown 50, Dreadnought 64, Stirling Castle 70, Warspite 70, Berwick 70, Resolution 70.
French :
12 ships of the line, plus auxiliaries.
Bourbon 68, St Louis 64, Gaillard 68, Terrible 80, Merveilleux 90, Tonnant 80, Foudroyant 84,
Fort 60, Ambiteiux 96, St Philippe 84,
Magnifique 86, Fier 80,